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The number of suicides has fallen by 35 percent in Hungary since 2010, state secretary of the ministry of human resources Bence Rétvári told MTI.

Rétvári attributed this partly to the development of the health care system, which has become more efficient at recognising and managing high-risk cases, and partly to economic recovery, which reduces the number of people facing hopelessness.

More than 2,490 people took their own lives in 2010,Rétvári said, but this figure fell to just over 1,630 in 2017.

The biggest fall took place among people aged between 40 and 49 years, which classifies as outstanding by international standards as well, he added.

With the economic recovery that started in 2010, growing employment, rising wages and the improving financial position of families, Hungarians now have a better outlook for the future, which has a positive impact on the number of suicides, the state secretary said.

This is also shown by the fact that according to figures from Eurostat, the ratio of those at risk of poverty or social exclusion has fallen significantly in all types of households compared to 2010,Rétvári said, noting that greater financial and social security also helps prevent situations leading to suicide.

THE HUNGARIAN ‘SUICIDE SONG’: GLOOMY SUNDAY

Many say that Hungarian folk songs are more melancholic and even sometimes sadder than the similar songs of other nations. Even though I do not share this opinion there was a song which was associated with 19 deaths and therefore, e.g. BBC banned its broadcast. This song is Rezső Seres’s Gloomy Sunday, the most well-known Hungarian song in the world, read more HERE.